Nearly 3K smart ration cards issued in Mohali since April

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 6

The Mohali District Administration generated 2,916 new smart ration cards between April and September this year for the distribution of ration under the National Food Security Act.

The number of smart ration card holders in the district has now gone past 1.10 lakh.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (G) Komal Mittal said with the concerted efforts of the Food and Supplies Department, the administration had carried out a campaign to provide smart ration cards to the families enrolled under the National Food Security Act.

She said over 1.18 lakh cards had been issued so far to over 4.53 lakh beneficiaries in Mohali district.

During a meeting to review the progress of the Food and Supplies Department, Mittal said the biometric authentication ensured food grain distribution to the actual beneficiary.

She said the intra-state portability feature of the card empowers a beneficiary to collect ration from a fair price shop of his/her choice. It marks the end of the age-old monopoly of depot holders, Mittal added.

She informed that smart ration cards could also be used to get food grains from fair price shops through e-PoS machines.

Mittal said a smart ration card can be swiped on the e-PoS machine to fetch the details of the family after which the biometric authentication of the family member would be done.

The Food and Supplies Department has also supplied 820 Covid relief packets to patients during the last three months, she added.

Assistant Deputy Commissioner (D) Dr Himanshu Aggarwal, Assistant Commissioner (G) Tarsem Chand, Kharar SDM Aakash Bansal, Mohali SDM Harbans Singh, Dera Bassi SDM Kuldeep Bawa and District Food and Supplies Officer Shefali Chopra were present in the in the meeting.

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